Wedding at Denver's Museum of Nature and Science

This Marriage Started With a Good Laugh and a Dose of Science

Monique and Aaron have a sense of humor. There's no denying that, considering their proposal story involved a prank. In addition to being funny, the pair have a nerdy side, too. That made Denver's Museum of Nature & Science the perfect venue for their wedding. Get all the details from the bride below.

The Proposal Prank

Aaron proposed to Monique while they were on vacation on Vieques, a small island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico. Monique recalls, "Aaron took me for a drive to a secluded beach at the end of the island. It had been storming that afternoon, but as we pulled up to the beach that evening the clouds were breaking and hints of this crazy sunset were peeking through. I walked out towards the water and he came up behind me with a small box and a huge grin." That all sounds pretty normal. But wait. "I opened the box to find the most hideous ring that I have ever seen. It was really something." As Aaron got down on his knee and asked Monique to marry him, she forgot all about the unsightly thing in the box and wrapped her arms around him, saying yes.

"After our embrace, he asked several times if I liked the ring and why I hadn't put it on," Monique explains. "As it turns out, before he started ring shopping he recalled a dream I had told him once where he had proposed with a god-awful ring that I wore for the rest of my life because I could never tell him how much I didn't like it. Needless to say, he and his best man set out to find the most vile ring in Colorado to propose to me with." As they were leaving the beach, Aaron finally came out with the truth of the ring and, according to Monique, "we had one hell of a laugh." In the end, they both designed their own rings.

A Natural Vision

Outdoors, metals, and science provided the inspiration for their big day. Monique tells us: "The ceremony took place on the roof deck of the Museum of Nature & Science overlooking the skyline of Denver and the Rocky Mountains." The reception took place in the atrium below. "Our vision was to mix my love for the outdoors and his love for science. The museum hit both right on the head. We used lots of copper in our decorations: copper crepe paper for the backdrop of our ceremony, copper wire around the base of the boutonnieres, and bridesmaid's bouquets of baby's breath. The flowers were very simple and included mostly succulents, wheat grass, and spider mums. "

The Personal Touch

As Aaron explains, the cake kept with the scientific theme: "The equation on our cake is Schrodinger's equation. It describes how waveforms evolve with time and how individual particles act as if there are complex interactions with other particles in its wave, even when alone. I chose this equation because Monique and my relationship has fundamentally changed our nature. All of our actions are affected by our relationship with each other, even when we are alone. We too continue to evolve over time, both as individuals and together."

A First Dance to Remember

What was Monique and Aaron's favorite moment of the day? "Our first dance," she tells us. "We had taken a couple dance lessons to figure out how to dance to the song we loved." They chose "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. "I was nervous to dance in front of everyone, but as soon as we got out there and messed up a move, we just started laughing and goofing around. It was awesome."

As for their bridal party, Monique just asked them to wear a black dress of their choosing. She wore Vera Wang — and looked absolutely stunning.